HIstory of the Yorba Family - Essay Example

Extract of sampleHIstory of the Yorba Family

At that time, American Indians dwelled in Orange County until the period of Spanish colonization in the late 1700's.
Gaspar de Portola, a Spanish explorer, marched through the San Joaquin Valley, abruptly ending the quiet life of the Gabrielinos (Indians). With the Spaniards came forts, missions and herds of cattle (City of Irvine, 2007). The Spanish Empire wanted to colonize quickly on the West coast of the New World because their enemy, Britain, was preoccupied on the East coast with the Revolutionary War from 1763-1775 (Middlebrook, 2005).
One of the members of the Portola expedition was a young soldier by the name of Jose Antonio Yorba (The Colton Letters, 2002), born in San Sadurni de Noya, Spain, in 1746 (Timeline, n.d.). After retiring from military service in 1797, Jose Antonio Yorba later returned as one of several large landowners who established ranchos in the area ("San Antonio," 2005). Yorba settled in the lush California valleys around the Santa Ana River south of Los Angeles. In 1809, he petitioned the King of Spain for a grant of land in this area covering 62,516 acres, which included the current communities of Irvine, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin and several others (City of Irvine, 2007). Yorba Linda in Orange County was eventually named after him.
The Spanish promoted intermarriage between Spanish soldiers and American Indians. For example, Corporal Jose Antonio Yorba, born in Spain, married an American Indian by the name of Maria Garcia Feliz at Monterey and had two children (Middlebrook, 2005). It is said, one boy drowned at age six, and another died in his mid-twenties. Yorba's wife also died early in 1781. Yorba then married a 16 year old by the name of Maria Josefa Grijalva, an older daughter of another Spanish military leader named Juan Pablo Grijalva who eventually received the highest rank in the Spanish expedition in California and also founded Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana (Middlebrook, 2005).
In 1810, Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, 62,516 acres, was granted to Jos Antonio Yorba and Juan Pablo Peralta by Spanish Governor Jos Joaqun Arrillaga; it was the only Spanish land grant wholly in Orange County (Hallan-Gibson, nd.). Most of Rancho Santa Ana became Orange County, CA, and one of the haciendas became Yorba Linda, birthplace of President Nixon (Harrison, 2000). At that time, the King of Spain began to parcel out lands for missions and for a few large, private land grants. In 1831, after gaining independence from Spain, the Mexican government secularized the missions, assumed control of land holdings and began dispensing ranchos to Mexican citizens who went for grants. (City of Irvine, 2007).
In time, Jose Antonio Yorba passed his land to his heirs - the most notable being his son, Don Bernardo Yorba (The Colton Letters, 2002). On August 1, 1834, Bernardo, moved across the Santa Ana River from what is now Anaheim Hills, to establish Rancho Caon de Santa Ana.
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana. Three large Spanish/Mexican grants made up the land that later became the Irvine Ranch: Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, Rancho San Joaquin and Rancho Lomas de Santiago. The oldest was the Rancho Santiago
...Show more

Summary

This is the story of the Yorba family, one of the prominent landowners of Orange County in California, told against the background of the history of Spain, Mexico, and United States, or California in particular. Through a review of literature on the Yorbas, the story starts briefly from the late 1700s with Jose, the father, and his expedition; then leads on the Bernardo, the third son of the Don; and ends in the late 1800s with what happened to the last of the Yorba lands.
…

Related Essays

Below is a record of a family’s genetic history Family Member Description Paternal grandfather First and last initials: BM Birthdate: 1938 Death date: 2006 Occupation: Retired tutor Education: Graduate Primary language: English Health summary: Had an accident and as a result of shock, he died.post mortem disclosed that he had heart failure and diabetes which weakened his health.

The search for my family history started with me exploring my roots on my father’s side. My father’s Family Tree I knew very little about my father’s family except that they were from Germany and their last name was Schoff. With both my parents deceased, I set out to explore our family history in reverse starting from my birth.

Work was what families did to maintain their families. This made people regard work very highly. Over the years, the relationship between work and family has experienced transformation and peoples’ view of work has changed. Many changes have occurred in the workplace, and this has affected employees and their families.

The report gives limitations and gaps on the documents, which include complicated language and limited accessibility. The recommendations that the report gives to solve these limitations include writing legal and financial documents in a simpler language that is easily understood. The problem of accessibility of the documents would be solved by producing copies.

Because knowing who you are goes beyond just providing your complete name or who you’re parents are. In as much as you are not simply a student, an employee, a mother or a father, because you are the product of

He even took trips to the Paris World’s Fair, which he had pictures to prove. My grandmother, on the other hand, liked Charlie Chaplin as it was her favorite movie of all time. My grandfather’s brothers took part in

In 1971, around the same time when my family decided to move, Shaw was experiencing unrest. The town was sued for violating against the 14th Amendment and failing to provide the residents with right to equal